The Final Four (HIATUS)
by beyxndthebound
Summary: After denied entry at Wellington, both Kenny and Jane disappear. Still after many months, Clementine's determined to figure out why they had left her, and a defenseless toddler - AJ - by themselves. But with the help of a young friend who Clementine had saved from incoming walkers before the disappearance, will they find Kenny and Jane alive?
1. introduction

"God dammit!"

Clementine sighed as she averted her gaze to look down at the boy she called her little brother. God, his goofy smile was contagious - even in bad situations. Now? It seemed like a bit of both.

"Can you watch him for a second?" the girl asked Jane, while the woman just heaved a soft sigh and nodded.

"Yeah, I'll watch him. Go see what's wrong with him."

The young girl just sighed, shaking her head as she walked out the front door. This little setup they had going was good, had plenty of food, water, and shelter. They had found this house when the truck ran out of gas. The entire neighborhood was full of walkers when they had gotten here, but that was a different story to tell later.

Walking towards Kenny, the teenager sighed as she rubbed up and down her forearm. "What's wrong, Ken?" Clementine asked, wiping the sweat that already had formed on her forehead. God, it was so god damn humid outside, she thought. She had never liked the heat, considering when she was younger, she'd bury herself under blankets. Now. . it was different.

"Truck's not gonna run," he sighed, giving a small shake of his head as he rested his hand against the hood of the car.

"Dammit. ." Clementine whispered to herself.

After Wellington made all four of them leave, giving two bags instead of one full of things they needed to survive, they had stopped here. It seemed like a good place to stay, and it still is, but what happens when they needed to leave at last second? She couldn't bear thinking about that. Hopefully there was something they could do, but for now? Kenny looked ready to pass out due to the heat.

"Let's go inside, Ken. It's hot as hell out here."

"I'll be in a second."

"But, Ken-"

"I said I'd be in a minute!"

And of course, another unexpected outburst. But Clementine already knew that he didn't mean anything about it. It was just. . part of his personality, she guessed. She heaved a soft sigh as he did as well, "I'll be in after you, darlin'. I don't like AJ being in there with 'her' by himself."

"You two need to start getting alone, Kenny," she whispered, but of course Kenny had heard her, and he just sighed, before looking up at the sky.

"I know, darlin'," the man huffed softly, shaking his head. "It's just not easy, y'know? She always has to run her damn mouth."

"It may not be easy, Kenny. But I believe you two can make up. I just don't want us turning on each other - like what Mike and. ."

Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes at the thought of Arvo shooting her in the damn shoulder. If she saw them again. .

"If I see them again, Clementine," Kenny murmured, his voice shaky - but it wasn't like that. He sounded pissed off. "They're fucking dead. No mercy, Clem. They shot you in the fucking shoulder then left you to die."

She just shook away the thought of Kenny actually murdering the three - it was kind of hard not to. Thank God she left with Sarita when the man she knew from the very beginning, began bashing Carver in. But he was doing good for the group.

Right?

"I'm going inside," she told him, before talking back towards the door. Letting the door shut behind her, she walked back towards the living room to find. . both AJ and Jane gone.

She walked towards one of the bedrooms, her voice starting to get uneven at the thought of AJ getting lost - or worse.

"Come on," Jane murmured, the bottle of warm water tipping over all over the ground, Jane letting loose a soft of loud 'fuck', which made the teenager grin.

Walking over to where AJ was in Jane's arms, the young girl held her arms out, "Here, let me show you."

"I never liked looking out after babies," Jane smirked softly as Clementine bent over to pick up the bottle, "And now you. . probably know why."

That only made Clementine smile wider as she filled the bottle with formula, as well as a bit of water, before shaking it. AJ was content with baby formula for now, but he had to get into baby food. Hell, he could barely say anything now and he was two! Or, so she thought.

"It's kind of funny," she told the older woman, "Seeing you struggle to hold AJ while trying to make a bottle."

"Thanks, Clementine," she said sarcastically.

God, she loved moments like these. No arguing, no walkers, no danger, it was honestly too good to be true. Jane was starting to open up to Clementine more and more, letting her get settled. Goodbye, Mrs. Lone Wolf. Of course, Jane would often end up sitting alone, not bothering to talk to me or Kenny. But it wasn't tense like it had been before. The two still argued onto what they should do, and what they should do if there was a raid, or a herd of walkers. Clementine usually tuned them out though.

"Hell-oo. Earth to Clementine?" the older female jokingly said, waving a hand in front of a Clementine that was dozed off.

"What did you say?" Clementine asked, giving her head a small shake to wake herself back up. She was exhausted, considering that she couldn't sleep, especially when nightmares came. God, and she couldn't sleep with walkers outside.

"You need to sleep," Jane sighed, giving her cranium a small shake as well, like a mom disapproving of what her kid did.

"I'm fine," she whispered under her breath, but of course - Jane had heard her. It felt nice, having both Kenny and Jane worry about her.

"Clementine," Jane said in a stern voice, her brows narrowing as she gave Clementine her a look, which only made the little girl sigh. Jane knew she was exhausted.

"Fine," she sighed, giving her eyes a small roll before walking towards the room that she and AJ slept in. Shutting the door, the young girl placed AJ on her bed, before hopping on the bed herself. She placed the bottle in AJ's mouth to which the young boy wrapped his hands around the bottle, chugging down the big gulps.

Her lips curled into a small smile as she wrapped the thin blanket around the boy, letting her eyes shut moments later as the sleep deprivaton had finally took its toll.

. . _**One hour later**_. .

The young girl's eyes opened wide - dammit, another nightmare. God, she hated these, almost as much as she hated the walkers. Or maybe both. Dammit, she couldn't even think straight now.

The bottle was resting next to AJ, little breaths coming out from the small boy. That resulted in a small grin forming. Damn, this little man always knew how to make her mood better - even if he was asleep.

Scooting to the end of the bed to make sure she wouldn't wake AJ up, she slowly stalked towards the door that was closed, opening it slowly to make sure the door didn't creak on her way out. There were no windows in the room, so thank god in case AJ started crying.

It was. . quiet. Very quiet.

Shaking her head, she slowly stalked towards the fridge (that obviously didn't work), pulling out a water bottle that she had opened before. They labeled their bottles by their first inital, just to make sure none of them stole one another. It'd be bad if Kenny and Jane tried killing each other over that. Unbelievable, right?

Letting loose a soft sigh, she gave a few chugs of the water before slipping it back in the fridge. No thanks, dehydration.

As soon as she checked on AJ after grabbing some water, she walked in each of the others' rooms. They weren't there. . what the hell could've happened to them?

She then bit her lip, walking towards the front door. Swinging it open, there were about five walkers outside - what the fuck? Where the hell were they?! Then she moved her head to the right, noticing that the. . .

. . . the truck was gone? Did they leave her?

It was hard to believe that Kenny would actually leave her - with Jane at the least! They hated each other!

But something at the back of her mind, a really small part of her mind, thought otherwise. They hadn't argued 'that' much, but where could they be?

There was a fire in her heart. She needed to know what happened. Leaving her and AJ alone with fucking walkers outside, and yet no one came to tell her.

They couldn't have left them. . .

 _They wouldn't have left them. . ._


	2. chapter one

_**. . Present Day . .**_

The young girl sucked in a large breath, little AJ on her back. There was some talk about the New Frontier - to which Clementine kindly (in the best way possible) to this woman named Ava. She seemed nice, she thought to herself. But that wasn't he idea now.

She had lost all hope on finding Jane and Kenny, after several months of being alone, or maybe it was even a year? Damn, she was getting bad at time. She stayed around the house a few days to wait for Kenny and Jane but. . they never came back. Damn, she missed them, that's for damn sure.

"How're you holdin' up, goofball?" the young girl glanced behind her to send the young boy a small smile, to which the two year old got to boy to smile. He was so cute, he was good company.

"You're getting big, you know th-"

A few miles away, was a truck - and that seemed to be the perfect vehicle to get out of this shit hole. She had to get her and AJ somewhere safe, and hope to God find Kenny and Jane out somewhere. "Alright, goofball. Plug your ears."

Slipping her pistol out from her back pocket, she awaited for the truck to get closer. "Come on. ." she murmured under her breath, crouching down to hide.

Aaaaaand. .

 _BAM!_

"Perfect!" the young girl whispered to herself joyfully, the truck driving into the ditch that was next to the road.

Ahh, fuck!

She walked towards the totaled vehicle, making sure to hide behind the truck. It looked like one of Carver's truck when they had kidnapped them all and forced them as labor to work around the crazy man's 'community'. God, she couldn't dream of going through that shit again. . It was almost traumatizing.

A man wearing a baseball jersey from what she could tell had jumped out of the vehicle, hands bonded together. He seemed to have a pistol in his hands and was aiming at the man driving the truck.

She shook her head, a small smirk resting upon her lips as she pocketed her pistol, soon pulling out a shotgun she had found a long time ago. It didn't have that much bullets left, though. Better use them wisely.

As the baseball player let the man drive away, Clementine immediately cocked her gun, to which in result, made the man tense, immediately tossing the pistol onto the ground.

She turned her head to see a sleeping AJ, maybe he hadn't heard her shoot her pistol? Or maybe the lack of sleep finally made him pass out on her shoulder, but he was cute as hell anyway.

"Fuck. . alright. ."

"Good. . just keep looking forward."

He shook his head as Clementine elicited a small snicker.

"It's not what it looks like,"

"Really?" she replied, her voice stern - something she adapted from Jane. "It seems like you let him get away. Doubt he would've done the same for you, huh?"

She bent down and picked up the pistol, before walking towards the truck. "Oh shit," she said aloud, opening the door to the driver's side. Shit, shit, shit. Oh, an apple!

God she forgot what these had tasted like. The last time she had an apple, it was. . back at the motor inn. Lord, let him be resting in peace right now. . .

She couldn't think about him right now. She just couldn't. Biting into the apple that she had gotten from the truck, she walked back towards the male.

"Turn around and close your eyes," the little girl instructed emotionlessly, the man doing as she told. She unzipped man's backpack, slipping a hand in his backpack to which she absolutely hated. But it was all for AJ. .

"Hey, I'm the victim here!" the man said, frustrated. He left his family back at the junkyard, now he was getting robbed by a little girl.

"We're all victims," she muttered with annoyance, and totally ignored the man's pleads for her to stop.

"Oh, so that gives you the right for you to rob me?!"

She ignored and continued pulling out some more kinds of food before pulling out a candy bar. AJ would love this. .

"Hey, that's for my niece. She loves chocolate. I promised it I'd give it to her. . . please."

Man, now that really made her feel like a shit and with that, she frowned and slid the candy bar back into the man's backpack.

"Good, now close your eyes and count to a hundred before you go, got that?"

And with that, Clementine started away towards one side of the road to which the man prevailed.

"Come on, I. . I need your help. Me and my family were driving towards the junkyard on I-83 when we were attacked there. Please."

She gave a small shake of her head, the annoyance she felt before coming back, "And why should I help you?"

"Uh. . ."

And then an idea came. She could have take their vehicle. . if she got him there of course. Thank God AJ was asleep right now, wouldn't want him to hear her.

"You said you were driving?"

"Yeah. .in our family van."

"I'll. . . I'll take you to the junkyard, if you. . let me have our van."

The stranger's heart shrank, but what's the least he could do? He was tied up and weaponless, and therefore sighed softly in defeat. He'd have to agree.

"Fine, you've got a deal. Yeah."

"Good, start moving." She pointed towards the other side of the road, to which started more of useless conversation. This man sure was talkative, huh?

"You're. . you're just a kid." To which she rolled her eyes. Sure, she looked like a kid, but she sure as hell didn't act like it anymore. . she couldn't. She couldn't risk it.

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry. . the name's Javier, by the way."

She sighed before shaking her head. Ugh.

"Clementine," she then snook a look behind her, to see AJ groggily waking up. Such a hard sleeper, "And this here is AJ."

"Clementine, huh? That's a sweet name, don't you think?"

God, this was going to be a very long night.


	3. chapter two

_**"If you say so. . ."**_

It had been about an hour since she had caught Javier and led him towards the junkyard. There was a thick tension in the air, and it definitely made her uncomfortable. AJ was starting to get hungry, but thank god he had started eating other foods. He was hungry and wasn't that much of a picky eater - but not much of anyone was now. She could eat almost anything, they were always that hungry.

"Shit," she heard Javier murmur under his breath, averting his gaze to see the horde of walkers. Clementine hated all of them from the bottom of her heart or whatever. They had killed a lot of her group, tore them away from each other. . . She missed her.

 _Sarah was trampled under all the debris that had fell of the cliff, making the little girl's heart break. The teenager continued to squeal as she continued to wiggle around, but that was all she could do._

 _"I can't let this happen to her!" Clementine shouted, the walkers gaining on the both of them._

 _"Kid, just pull me up!"_

 _"No, help me help her out!"_

 _Before Jane could even protest, the young girl jumped from the sanctuary, landing on the ground with a small grunt. Damn, that made her feet hurt._

 _She rushed to the terrified teenager, and with all her strength, pushed as hard as she could against the piece of metal sticking out, hoping to at least budge it. But of course that was a no-go._

 _"Jane!" the girl cried out, walkers gaining closer and closer to the two. "Please, help us!"_

 _"Goddammit. ." she sighed and shook her head, debating whether to help them._

 _Clementine sent Jane her best puppy dog luck before heaving an annoyed sigh, jumping off and stalking towards where the two girls were._

 _"Clementine, we need to hurry the hell up!" and with that, they both pushed as hard as they could, the debris now starting to move - but not enough. Shit! They'd be here any second._

 _A fire in Clementine's heart spread around her body like wildfire, and she got a rush of adrenaline; running on the other side to pull on Sarah._

 _"Kick your feet out Sarah, you need to! Jane, push!"_

 _Gunshots were heard as walkers fell to the ground, seeing Bonnie holding her gun. She'd have to thank the red-head later._

 _Sarah did as she was told and quickly pushed herself out from the little spot, although that has used a lot of the teenagers' strength. Catching their breaths, Jane was already trying up the little ramp, but then. . ._

 _ **SNAP!**_

 _Ah shit! Jane had just broke the ramp. Damn you, Jane, for caring about your god damn self. Ugh._

 _"Are you fucking stupid?!" Kenny shouted, his one eye ready to bulge out of his head. "You couldn't think about the children for one god damn second?!"_

 _They couldn't stick around. . they had to get out of there._

"Clementine?" Javier mumbled, waving a hand in her face - to which Clementine pointed the gun at him out of instinct. "Woah, let's think about this."

The teenage girl sighed as she shook her head to stare at the incoming walker horde. It was closer now!

"Jesus; alright, Javier. There's a town nearby, we need to go there, and I mean now."

"Alright, then lead the way."

". . . Thank you." A little grin lifted upon her lips, and heaved a sigh. This was going to be dangerous. She pulled out her knife, untying the rope around his hands, and looked back at AJ. He was becoming fussy, and started to whimper. They had to get there, now!

"Let's go! Don't make me regret this."

And with that, she and little AJ resting upon her back, booked it towards the gates.

"Get to the gate!" she shouted, whipping her shotgun out in front of her, shooting an incoming walker while Javier had dodged an incoming walker attack.

"Open up the damn gates!" she gasped as the walkers were closing in one them, shooting at more of the walkers.

"Can't open them up unless you've cleared them out. Sorry!"

God damn it, they both thought.

"Here," she mumbled as she tossed Javier the pistol, before shooting at a walker that was closing in on their right. Javier had shot the one on Clementine's left, and she'd have to thank him later.

The gate's made a rumbling sound as they slowly started to open, letting herself let loose a soft breath of relief.

"Let's go," and with that, started towards the gate, but quickly stepped to the side as this lady. . Francine, was it? She had darted in there with a fucking horse and almost knocked all three of them out.

"Jesus Christ," the young girl whispered to herself, sighing as AJ was full out bawling now. Great. . .

"God dammit, Francine. Y'know, one day, your ass is going to be left outside. We can't keep making risks like this."

"Yeah, Tripp, and when that day comes," she sent the male a playful smile while hopping off her horse, "I'll make sure to eat you first."

Rolling his eyes, Tripp then looked at the two of them. He sure was serious.

"You staying for good, Clementine, is it?"

"No," she replied, sneaking a glance at Javier, "I'm taking him to find his family at the junkyard as soon as this herd passes over."

The man just sighed, Javier resting a palm against his forehead. He could think of a million things. . . and fuck, he couldn't leave them to die.

"Well, I'm just saying now - I'm praying for them. I'll take you to the junkyard myself if you really want the ride." And with that, Javier nodded, to which Clementine scowled. She's still getting her van, one way or another. She couldn't stay around here anymore. It was like. . . toxic.

"I'll be going too," the little girl perked up, trying to sooth a crying AJ, "Shh. . . it's okay, goofball. We'll go get you some food now, alright?"

"Kitchen is that way," Tripp pointed towards the kitchen, which already had bowls lying about. Hopefully it was cool enough for AJ to eat, didn't want to burn his mouth.

"Ready to go, Javier? No offense, but you look like crap."

Javier smiled in return before he and Clementine started walking towards the kitchen. "Hey, Javi?" she asked, to which he looked down at her. "I'm sorry for. . about earlier. I just. . can't trust people easily anymore. So much has happened. Thank you for saving my life back at the gates. I owe you one. But you still owe me that van."

The old baseball player sighed, nodding his head. "I haven't forgotten the deal yet, kiddo. But let's go eat something, I'm starving."

The young girl nodded her head in agreement, her lips curving into a small smile while AJ immediately shut up at the mention of food. God, he was so cute.

 _I just hope things go good this time. . ._


	4. chapter three

Grabbing a spoon and a bowl of warm squash soup from the kind lunch man, they took of towards the picnic table.

"This is the best we're gonna get, huh?" Javier murmured to himself, letting loose a soft chuckle as he slipped the spoon into his mouth, savoring the. . . taste.

"Unless you wanna pay. . . and we don't have money with us."

"Since when did food start costing money?"

The younger girl shrugged her shoulders, blowing on the soup to make it cool for her and AJ to eat. The boy had quieted down for now, but she hoped he'd stay quiet long enough for the soup to get cool enough.

After a few moments of breathing, which took a lot of Clementine's oxygen, she scooped some of the soup up with her spoon, placing it slowly into AJ's wide mouth. He was adorable, she oved feeding the young boy. He started to suck down on the spoon, earning a small smile from both Javier and Clementine. He obviously liked the food.

She scooped some food up for herself and brought it to her mouth. It's been a struggle, the past few months. It's good having company. . well, someone to talk to. AJ was good company as well, and always made her smile when she was feeling down, but he couldn't exactly. . talk.

It was really hard having to take care of AJ by herself ever since. . . they had left her. Food was scarce, and it was getting hard to take care of little boy by herself, until she had found Prescott. But that was a different story.

Heaving a soft sigh, she placed the spoon in her mouth, the taste immediately making her want to spit it out. But it was food, and that was that. She never liked squash, but she had to eat it. She was getting hungry.

Javier over there, though, was trying to hold in the snickers that were threatening to spill out. As well as the food in his mouth.

Clementine turned her head to glare at the man, but he looked so funny! His cheeks were looking like they were about to burst, to which AJ started to let loose a soft giggle of his own. The young girls' lips curved into a small grin, shaking her head as she scooped some more squash up.

Javier quickly swallowed the food, coughs spilling out from his mouth, to which the teenager chuckled softly.

"Is it that bad?" she asked, feeding the food to AJ, to which he happily swallowed. "I mean. . . I don't think it is."

Of course she was lying. Who the hell likes broccoli anyway?

"Really?" he asked as his coughing fit had ended, "Because you looked like you were about to throw up."

"Shut up," she replied, "I can eat this without showing any bad emotion."

"Oh yeah?" he raised a brow at her challenge, "Let's see it then, Ms. Squash Queen."

"Whatever," she then scooped more of the squash up. God. . . it was like they were staring at her. She slightly opened her mouth, and slipping the soup into her mouth and. . .

OH MY GOD, she thought to herself, chewing on the squash while trying to avoid Javier's smirk, FUCKING HELL WHY DID I EVEN THINK OF THIS?!

She swallowed the squash down, her eyes narrowing in disgust.

"S-See. . .?"

"Your eyes narrowed," to which Javier quickly finished his food, Clementine feeding the rest of the soup to Alvin Junior. She was in the worst mood possible, just because she lost the stupid challenge with Javier. Or it was with herself. Whatever.

As soon as they were both done, she picked up AJ with both of her hands, to which AJ shifted to make himself comfortable.

"Can you take my bowl, Javi? My hands are kind of full right now."

Shrugging, he slipped the bowls and spoons into the sink; first cleaning everything of the bowls and then everything off of the spoons. He honestly would go back to cleaning dishes every night than having to kill walkers everyday.

Instead of having AJ on her back, she just held onto him. She knew somewhere they could sleep, although it wasn't the best.

"There's an Inn nearby," she told Javier, walking towards the middle of the road, "We could sleep there and then wake up early in the morning."

Javier sighed, shaking his head. God, what about his family?

"But my family," he replied to her, to which she shook her head, "Javier, I'm sure they know what to do. We're going to be exhausted and there will be no way in hell we'll be able to help them if we don't sleep. Tripp said he was going to take us in the morning, so let's just leave it at that."

Javier was kind of shocked, they were having fun a second ago, now they were worrying about - or Javier was - about his family.

"They'll be fine."

She started towards the run down Inn, which was just a rundown motel for homeless. It would be good for the night.

"Which rooms are open?" the young girl asked, to which the male asked how many beds.

"Two," she replied, and the man pointed towards a door with the number 273, and handed her the key to the motel room.

"Could you wake us up at first sun, tomorrow? We're looking for this man's family."

He thought for a second before nodding, telling Javier that his family was in the man's prayers. Thanking the man, the trio started towards the motel room.

"I'm tired," she started small talk, and Javier was tired too. . he probably wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, but he should at least try.

Twisting the key into the door's keyhole, she opened it. It didn't stink, but it was freezing. And the ground felt wet, to which made Clementine cringe. She hated wet carpet.

Walking towards one of the beds, she thanked the lord it wasn't wet. She sat AJ down on the bed before jumping onto the bed next to him, to which the young boy giggled lazily. She lifted up his shirt, blowing down on his stomach to which made a sort of noises, to which both of them laughed.

Javier watched sadly, remembering the old memories of doing that with both Gabe and Mariana. He almost forgot about all that. . . he was so worried about everything now. He just hoped to get they were alright.

Clementine let AJ's shirt fall, wrapping the boy up in a warm blanket - well, the motels blanket.

"It's time for bed, goofball. Better get to bed." She averted her gaze to look at Javier resting against the door, a small frown forming on her lips.

"Let's get some sleep."

"Yeah. . ."

 _Just hold on. . ._


	5. chapter four

Clementine looked down at her stumped finger, letting loose a small sigh. It hurt like hell before when she had to cut it off, but it was bearable now.

She was sitting in the back seat, dozed off as usual. She always seemed to do that when. . . Lee died. Jesus, she missed the shit out of him. Her heart ached every time she thought about him, but it was a good thing. She didn't want to forget about the man that had taught her how to survive years, who had taught her how to shoot again, to protect those who are your family. And she couldn't let that thought go.

"Clementine?" Javier asked, to which she shook her head, getting rid of thoughts for now. She averted her gaze to smile at AJ, to which he smiled back. Thank goodness they had a spare car seat.

"Tell me about your niece," the little girl brought up, her brow arched, "Y'know, the one you told me about when I was. . . robbing you."

The ex-baseball player let loose a shaky chuckle, remembering how the two met last night.

"Well. . ." he started, letting his gaze fall to the side of the road, "She's sweet. . . you know? God, I don't know what I'd do without them. ."

Tripp released a soft sigh as he shook his head, before he rested all of his attention towards the road. "They'll be alright," the man said after a little while of thinking of what to say, "I'm sure they're a tough family."

Javier smiled, thanking the man for the reassuring words.

"How old is she?" Clementine asked, bringing the subject up once again.

Of course, Clementine didn't want to seem weird. But it had been forever since she had a friend around her age. She sure as hell missed Sarah, wherever she was. She hoped she was _okay._

"She's ah. . around your age. Or she looks like it. She's ten."

"You were three years off," she snickered, while AJ just continued making whatever baby sounds they made.

"How many of you are there?" Tripp asked, "Just wanna make sure. . . don't wanna run into some bad guys."

"There's three. Kate, she's around my age," Javier started, as they were gaining closer towards the junkyard, "Gabe is just a moody teenager, and Mariana is the baby of the family."

"That's it," the teenage girl pointed out, as they pulled closer towards the junkyard.

As Tripp shifted the gear into park, the other two - well three if you counted AJ - hopped out of the truck and slammed the doors shut. Not too loud to attract unnecessary attention.

Walking towards Javier while he picked up to what seemed to be a hatchet, she had her shotgun in hand and AJ on her back. Her screwdriver that Jane had given her was in her pocket, and her pistol was in the back of her jeans.

"MARIANA?!" The man shouted as he picked up to what seemed to be a cassette player, and her instincts kicked in when she heard a car door slam.

A young girl who did seem quite mature for her age, appeared from a rundown truck, and even though she didn't know this girl was, she was relieved to see Javier's niece make it. Maybe they could be friends.

A side of Clementine wanted to be friends with the girl - Mariana -, but a side of her. . . wanted to distance herself. What if Mariana had died? She'd of course, have to deal with the shitty feeling of losing a good friend. From all the deaths she had witnessed, Lee would have to take the cake. . . God, seeing him like that ruined her.

It would've ruined anyone.

Mariana wrapped her arms around her uncle, nudging her face against his torso. They seemed to be close.

"Hey, kiddo. . ." he whispered, to which he wrapped his arms around her as well.

They broke apart, to which Javier's niece averted her gaze to send Clementine a soft smile.

"Hey. . . It's been forever since we've met anyone new," Mariana stated, to which Javier rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Mariana? Do you know where Gabe and Kate are at?"

He was getting worried, because of course, it was half of his family. Clementine had remembered the feeling of losing a family member, even if they had left her. She intended on finding Kenny and Jane but. . . where could they be? Where would she even start looking?

" _Gahhhhh,_ " there were growls nearby, and that made all of their hearts drop down into their stomachs', except for AJ's, he had no clue in the world to what in the hell was going on.

All of them started towards the truck that had walkers surrounding them, to which Javier sternly told Mariana: "Stay back, don't go any closer!"

AJ cowered behind Clementine in fear, and that was _not_ going to help her clear the walkers out. Her gaze averted to Mariana in the back of them all, making sure to stay a safe distance away from the walkers, and she hoped to god nothing would happen to them. . .

"Mariana," the teenager started, "I need you to-"

"Here!" the young girl took AJ out of Clementine's slouch on her back, to which she thanked the lord. Her back was tense, but it was so much better than having to hold AJ for a second.

Gripping her screwdriver, she kicked a walker's knee to which it fell over, and immediately stabbed its brain. She swung her arm up towards the right, the screwdriver penetrating the walker's jaw and into its' brains.

Huffing as she quickly regained her breath, she then stabbed at the last walkers' neck, quickly sidestepping the ghoul and smashing her screwdriver into the back of its' head.

The others (besides Mariana) continued to slight pant, to which Clementine slipped her screwdriver into her pocket. It seemed empty, for now, but she couldn't jinx it.

She walked back towards Mariana and grabbed a shaken AJ, to which she thanked Mariana a million times for watching the young boy while they killed the remaining walkers. She noticed Javier and Tripp making their way towards the truck, and this was the opportunity to talk to Mariana.

"So. . ." she started awkwardly, looking down at the ground while kicking at the ground. She hated starting conversation. "My name is Clementine."

"That's a pretty name," the girl replied and smiled softly, making Clementine smile in return.

"Let's go," and the three started towards truck. Clementine noticed a boy around her age, who was probably Gabe that Javier had mentioned, and an older lady, who must be Kate. She gripped onto her shotgun, holding it tightly.

Javier had mentioned bad people earlier. . . what if they were still around?

"Who's the kid with the gun. . ." Kate started, to which Mariana happily replied with: "Her name's Clementine. She helped save your life." It wasn't a rude or defensive way of replying, but more friendly.

"Thanks, Clementine. We appreciate your help."

The teenage girl smiled softly, nodding her head. Kate then looked behind Clementine to find AJ resting on her back, to which AJ was staring back at Kate. The woman chuckled softly, "He's cute. What's his name?"

"It's AJ," she said, and started towards back the truck. They had to get out of her. . . she had a bad feeling of staying around. She had heard about the people that branded themselves, a New Frontier, or whatever, but it didn't worry her until now. . . What if they were the people that attacked Javier and him family?

Clementine shouldn't be worried about them, she had no reason to. It was just. . . so damn hard to distance herself when there was an entire family here, and she had already started talking to Mariana.

". . . Does the place your talking about have warm water?" the young girl joyfully asked, "It doesn't even have to be warm. . . maybe lukewarm water or something. . ."

"I think so?" he turned to glance at Tripp, to which he smirked softly.

Clementine tuned them out, turning her head in different angles to adjust to their environment. It seemed to have a bit of everything. She sighed as she glanced at the broken down van, smoke pouring out from where she thought where the engine was.

"You still owe me a working ride," Clementine started, "I know it's not the easiest thing to find, but. . ."

"Don't worry," Javi interrupted, "I haven't forgotten about our deal."

Mariana trailed forward a bit, picking up a pair of headphones.

Her gaze averted to the shaking bushes, her first instinct was to push Mariana out of the way, but she couldn't with AJ on her back. . .

Ah, fuck!

She ran forward and immediately pushed small girl down onto the ground, to which everyone was confused onto why the fuck she would do that.

But, before they could say anything, she yelled, "GET DOWN!"

She peaked over the crates they were behind to see. . .

 _. . . Sarah? . . ._


	6. chapter five

_"I'm starving. . ." the teenage girl sighed, Clementine nodding her head in agreement. It had been hours since they had ran away from the herd that had surrounded the people she counted as family._

 _"We'll. . . we'll find something, Sarah. I'm starving too."_

 _Sarah's stomach grumbled again for what seemed to be the millionth time. The little bit her lip as the two wondered towards to what seemed to be a rundown supermarket, that seemed empty. But. . . it was worth to look at. They were starving._

 _"I'll go inside. . ."_

 _"No, we can. . . both go. I just. . . my dad. ."_

 _Clementine grasped the older girl's hand, giving it a soft squeeze before heading towards the store. "I'm sorry you lost your dad, Sarah." Of course, she had to say that at the worse time possible but it had to be said._

 _"I. . . I don't think I've processed things, Clementine," she whispered out of sheer fear. . ._

 _"I'm scared. . ."_

It seemed that Sarah had not seen her yet, an excellent resting bitch face resting upon the older teenage girl's features, holding tightly onto the rifle she was holding onto.

She still looked the same, except she didn't have her glasses. . . but her hair was cut short, just like when she had last seen her. Part of her was relieved, but part of her didn't want to just come out and start a conversation because of course, that'd be fucking stupid and her brains would probably be blown off.

Biting onto her lip, she had to think of something fast. She could distract the oncoming group, because she sure as hell knew it wasn't just Sarah out here. Not when she looked so confident.

Yeah, that could work. . . she sighed before turning towards Javier.

"Get out where I can see ya!" a voice called out, more men coming out from the bushes Clementine's long lost friend had came out of.

"Javier," Clementine started, all eyes on her - besides the crew. "You need to take your family back to Prescott, get them somewhere safe. I don't know how long, but I have a feeling they'll be visiting there. . ."

Javier was actually contemplating whether to help fight with her, which made Clementine almost wanting to smile.

"In case things don't turn out okay. . ." Mariana whispered under her breath, looking terrified, "Thank you for saving my life. . ."

Of course, Mariana's brother looked scared shitless. Clementine was also starting to feel anxious about everything as well. . . She had AJ on her damn back. She just hoped that they wouldn't shoot her.

"You guys need to go, now!"

Slowly but carefully, they started towards the truck that was just around the corner. She swallowed harshly before standing up, a hand press against her hip. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. . . she wasn't ready to die.

"Put your hands up!"

She did as she was told, and held her hands up as AJ started to fuss resting on her back.

"Not now, goofball. . ." she sighed, averting her gaze to stare at a shocked Sarah. Well, her face didn't show much emotion, but her eyes sure did. A man with a beard and a tattoo on his neck smirked softly, to which the young girl shivered softly.

Sarah started towards the man as well as Clementine and AJ, while the others by the bush continued to hold their guns out, aiming them at Clementine.

Of course, Sarah was even more shocked when she saw an aged AJ fussing on her back, subconsciously murmuring, "AJ. . ."

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Nothing. . . we should take her back to camp. Want me to check her for weapons?"

Her voice had definitely sounded differently than when she had saw her last time, and she seemed a lot more mature.

Clementine honestly missed the old Sarah. . .

Heaving a soft sigh, she started at Clementine's ankles and started up, until she had found the younger teen girls' pistol, to which Sarah had hesitantly took. Great, now she was weaponless. She didn't know if Sarah had left the girl's screwdriver or missed it, but she was somewhat thankful. At least she could kill oncoming walkers or. . . yeah.

"Let me see your hands," the older girl murmured, gripping onto a rope.

"Sarah. . . it's Clementine. . ."

"Come on, don't make this hard on me. Let me see your hands."

Her mouth was left agape. Sarah must be a really good actress or she really didn't give a shit about Clementine and AJ anymore, but she was leaning more towards the good actress part.

She lifted her hands as the teenage girl tied her wrists together, sighing softly afterwards.

"You screwed up, Clem. . ."

It didn't sound like she intended on being rude, but instead it sounded more like a warning.

"You guys go ahead, I wanna talk to the girl."

"You makin' the commands now, kid?" the bearded man sarcastically said, to which Sarah replied with:

"Piss of Badger."

Ah, so that was the asshole's name. Seemed like Troy, instead he wasn't a redneck. Badger rolled his eyes before heading with the other men, and Clementine hadn't felt more scared since. . . well, since she lost Kenny and Jane.

"Sarah, what the hell? Who are these people?"

Sarah looked at the sky, thinking of what to say.

"Well. . ." she grabbed onto her own arm, she did that whenever she was nervous. Glad something part of Sarah hadn't left.

"They call themselves _The New Frontier._ They used to be decent people but now they're. . . something else. They've changed. . ."

"You're with them?!"

God, this was hard to take in. Back at the cabin, Sarah was just an innocent little girl, always hiding behind her dad. She didn't blame her though, or any kid for that matter. But Sarah seemed smarter. She could make her own decisions now. . . wow.

"Yes, Clementine," she sighed, before starting towards the bushes, to which Clementine started to slowly follow, "You have to realize that I had absolutely no one. I remember all of them talking about Wellington before, I thought this place would be exactly like it. . . Stupid old me. Now I'm stuck with them. . ."

Clementine felt bad, obviously, especially when she was just trying to survive like everyone. She made a mistake and besides, Clementine had her own secrets.

"I understand, Sarah. . I thought you were dead when that horde swarmed us. . ."

The thoughts pained her when Sarah was scared shitless, the little girl was too. Of course, Clementine had made it out and found everyone but Luke and Rebecca at some unfinished house. . the little girl already knew what had happened to them. And of course, those had killed her more on the inside as well. They were her family.

"It's. . . a long story," was all she could say, and Clementine decided to shut up after that.

"Sarah. . . let's go."

"What?"

"Let's go. Right now. Someone left their car there. . ."

"Dammit, Clementine. No. We're going."

"Sarah, please."

 _Jesus Christ,_ Sarah thought to herself. No doubt that The New Frontier would come looking for all three of them, and Sarah really wanted to leave. Maybe this was perfect opportunity.

"SARAH?! Let's go!" the asshole called out, and Sarah _almost_ smirked.

"Let me take a piss first."

"Fuck, whatever. Hurry the hell up."

Sarah pulled out her knife before cutting off the bondages that were tied tightly around Clementine's wrists.

"You go get the car started."

Clementine thought for a second before Sarah whisper-shouted, "Hurry! We can't waste time. The things they do over at TNF. . we don't want to be around. They'll be even more pissed when they noticed we left."

Clementine nodded her head before sprinting towards the car that had been unlocked and had the damn keys in the ignition? Are they fucking dumbasses? AND they left their car?

The young girl opened the backseat door and slid AJ in, placed both seatbelts over his little physique. Not a car seat, but good enough.

"HURRY!" Clementine called out, to which Sarah was just a few feet from the car until. . .

 _There was a shot._

 _And then a gasp._


	7. chapter six

_Before I start the chapter, I want everyone to know that I do not use slang. So if I use things like, for example, "TNF", they're literally saying the letters, or word if it makes sense. Whatever it is you prefer. I also wanted to apologize for the short chapter, so here you go, have a double. Make sure to review and possibly (follow me / my story), I'd definitely appreciate it. Or don't, just the thought of people reading this makes me happy anyway. :)_

 _Also, if you have any ideas for any upcoming chapters, make sure to visit my private messages, partly because I've had writers block on this story for a few days now. Enough of the ramble, enjoy this chapter._

 _Sarah awoke to a series of lows growls, the teenage girl already nervous with fear. Thanks to Clementine though, the teenager knew how to operate a gun properly. Even though Sarah's dad specifically always told her that guns were very bad, she wouldn't survive without it the firearms. Maybe later, but not now._

 _Of course, she never had to deal with them. . . alone. Sarah had took sanctuary in a small house, if you could even call it that. It had a bed, a bookshelf (even though half the books were children books), and her luck was just gone today._

 _Clementine had given Sarah her pistol, in case they had separated. Sarah thought before that they weren't going to get separated and that she or Clementine wouldn't have to use it, but being naïve these days were. . . stupid._

 _There weren't that much bullets left in the gun anymore, and it worried her to death. What if she couldn't make it out alive? What if she got bitten? She would never be able to shoot herself, even if it was for the better._

 _"Ah shit," she heard a huff outside the door, the teenager already starting to shake with fear. What if it was bad?_

 _But Sarah couldn't leave the lady out there die, that just wasn't her. "You can do this. . You can do this," she whispered under her breath, and forced herself to open the door, to which the woman immediately busted through and stood in front of the door._

 _Instinctively, Sarah pulled out her gun and shakily aimed it, her face shook with fear. She was already aiming her guns at people, this was not good._

 _"Look kid," the woman started, "If aiming that gun at me makes you feel better, so be it, but none of that is going to matter if we're rotter's food."_

 _"Rotter's?" Sarah replied, obviously confused to why they called them that. The teenager pushed forward and helped the woman keep the door closed off (kind of), but it wasn't going to hold much longer._

 _Finally, the bald lady pushed a thin piece of wood in what seemed to be a homemade lock. That was the first time Sarah hadn't relied much on anybody, and she got adrenaline when she had to keep the door shut. Is that what pride felt like? Freedom? She didn't know, but it was really weird. "Heh, thanks. Looks like we're a pretty good team, huh?"_

 _Sarah looked unsure, her face scrunching into confusing. "Uh. . . yeah, I guess."_

 _"The name's Ava," the lady stated, sending Sarah a soft smile, "Hey, how would you like it if I invited you to come with me to my group? I doubt any of them survived out here. . ." she sighed, shaking her head with a soft frown, "They're slow yeah, but when theirs a god damn ton of them, well, yeah."_

 _Sarah knew what she was talking about, because she had. . . lost her dad to that. She was still grieving over him, but now was not the time. She was going to die if she let what happened to her dad, happen to her._

 _"I, uh. . ." she was hesitant, looking down at the ground. She never made her own choices ever. Little did she knew this was going to be the first mistake she had made._

 _"I. . . I. . . yeah. . . I. . ."_

 _She took a deep breath before nodding her head softly. "We should rest up, and then we'll head out, sound good?"_

She hesitantly nodded her head and lied back on the bed. What if she made the wrong choice? It worried her to death. . .

"Sarah?!" Clementine shouted as she hesitantly slapped the older teenage girls' cheek, to which she howled in pain.

"Ow — Ow! Oh my God, Clementine! It hur- hurts. . ." she whimpered out.

The two were buckled into the stolen vehicle with AJ in the book, his gaze on Sarah. Either he was glad to see her, or he was just scared of her loud cries of pain. Of course, being shot in the shoulder wasn't supposed to be the best feeling in the world.

"I — I know! God, we'll be at Prescott's soon." The younger girl started, her gaze turning to look back at AJ, "She's going to be alright, AJ. We'll be there soon."

Pressing down on the clutch, she shifted the gears, and soon they zoomed pass the incoming walkers. Just one little shot could bring a shit ton of them, she thought to herself.

After a short while of driving the vehicle, they had finally arrived at Prescott. She was happy she had found Sarah, but like this? A bleeding mess, with probably the New Frontier after her? Greetings will have to be later.

"I'll grab AJ, just try getting outside, alright?" the girl said, to which Sarah nodded. Thank God she had found something to bandage Sarah's arm for a little while, but it wouldn't last forever. It was getting worse. The young girl opened the back door, unbuckling both of AJ's seatbelts that were crossed in front of him, and immediately slammed the door.

She hauled AJ into her right arm, her other arm wrapping around Sarah's waist — because, well, she wasn't as tall as the older teenager.

"Let's go," she mumbled, to which Sarah groaned in reply. As they were nearing the gates, Sarah had tripped, taking Clementine and AJ down with her, both of them letting loose soft grunts of pain while AJ cried.

"Hey, hey," she started, giving the toddler a small rock with her arms, "It's okay, goofball. I'm so sorry."

Her gaze averted to what seemed to be stabbing. . . over and over again. What the hell? It was that boy, Gabe, stabbing a walker repeatedly in the stomach. It made her sick — why the hell would he even do that? He was a little young to be calling mentally unstable, but who in their right minds would willingly stab an already struggling walker? Sure, she had felt almost nothing for them, but why torture them? Why not just end their suffering?

Before they could say anything, the gates opened — Clementine instinctively jumping as Sarah looked close to losing consciousness.

"Hey Cl — woah, what the hell?"

He sprinted towards the three that were resting against the ground, to which Javier helped Sarah up; Clementine lifting herself and AJ up.

"Can you help me with her?" the young girl pleaded, to which Javier glanced at Gabe, eliciting a soft sigh.

"Gabe, come on!" the man yelled, to which Gabe just glared at him.

God, what was with his attitude, Clementine thought to herself. He wasn't going through anything the teenager went through, he had absolutely no reason to be mad. . . well, from what she could see.

Rolling her eyes, she started towards the gate, Javier holding Sarah bridal style towards the gates, Gabe following close behind. That boy better get his shit together, Clementine thought once again, pushing open the gates. God dammit, Sarah was going to die from blood loss if they didn't hurry their ass up.

"It'll be okay, Sarah," the young girl stated, "You'll be better in no time."


	8. chapter seven

_**A/N: My longest chapter I believe, 2K words! Anyway, I'm hoping to have more chapters drafted out, I remember starting this chapter a long time ago, I just haven't had any motivation to finish it. I love writing, and it'd really help if some people would give me their thoughts, compliments, reviews, hell, even complaints on the story. I remembered earlier that I literally abused the word "damn" (sorry), but really, don't be afraid to give me some constructive criticism! I hope to have more flashbacks with Clementine/Sarah, considering it kind of was a big time gap, but I hope to clear confusion (please, if you have any, comment about it in the reviews). Just know that just because I'm not focusing now, doesn't mean I'm not later. It'll soon come, only time can tell.**_

 _ **I'm literally begging, give me any sort of reviews. That keeps my mood high, and it gives me motivation to write. I'll continue writing this story, but reviews do give me some sort of happiness, even if it's bad.. is that weird?**_

 _ **Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!**_

"Ugh. . ."

Sarah let loose a soft moan of pain, tears brimming her eyelids once she felt the fire sensation in her arm. Goodness, it hurt like hell.

The teenager looked at what was causing her so much pain, which was the bullet wound on her shoulder. No one seemed to be in the room she was in, so she was guessing she was in a motel room or something.

There was a picture of a tree on a steep hill, although the hill looked like it would probably make anyone lose their footing. There were a few dressers in the room as well, a TV on one of the dressers, and there was a bathroom in the other room. Grabbing her glasses that rested on the nightstand, she grabbed her pistol (with her good arm) and slid it in her holster, her backpack resting against the dresser. She then slipped on the jacket that was resting next to her; the jacket was a bit bigger than her physique, but it kept her warm.

 _'Where the heck is Clementine?'_ Sarah thought to herself. She couldn't believe her eyes yesterday when she saw her. Not only was she overjoyed that she was one of the many people in the cabin group, but they were best friends. Clementine believed in her whenever she thought she couldn't do things. Both Sarah and Clementine had both changed for the better, in a good way too.

Sarah was the same girl from the cabin, but she wasn't afraid to talk back. She wasn't afraid to fight walkers... as bad. She still got anxiety on some occasions, but she would suck it up. Sarah wasn't going to be a little girl anymore, not right now.

Sarah pushed all thoughts away and grabbed her knife from the nightstand as well. She then walked towards the wooden door, giving the room one more good luck before heading out. She had no idea where to even start looking, considering she's only been in Richmond for the majority of being lost.

Now she was in a place called "Prescott". She's heard it plenty of times back when the New Frontier would talk about it, and most of it was bad. A lot of citizens there would talk about how bad it was, but now? It didn't seem all that bad. The people seemed to be fairly nice, and they helped patch her shoulder up. It still hurt like hell, but that was the reaction she was going to get from getting shot. It wasn't to be all. . unicorns and rainbows, stuff like that.

As soon as the sixteen year old stepped out from the room she was in, the cold practically slapped her in the face, immediately crossing her arms over each other.

"It sure is chilly out. . ." Sarah whispered to herself, heaving a soft sigh as she shut the door behind her. Hopefully she wouldn't have to pay for the bills. A small yawn slipped out off Sarah's mouth, slowly walking towards what seemed to be a bar, but she wasn't too sure - considering she's never drank an ounce of alcohol in her life. Not even at Richmond.

After thinking about it for five minutes, she started towards the bar. Sarah slammed the door behind her, the warmth of the room welcoming her inside; although, the alcohol made her face twist in disgust. Sarah started towards two people, a man who seemed to be in his thirties or forties - she wasn't the best at ages - as well as a woman around the same age. They didn't seem to notice her until the anxious teen took small steps towards what seemed to be the couple.

"Hi. . . I'm Sarah," Sarah stated, better to introduce herself before throwing questions.

"Well, hello there! Francine," the woman replied, holding her hand out. She awaited for the teenager to shake her hand, to which Sarah happily obliged, "This here, he's Conrad. He doesn't bite."

Sarah only chuckled, letting herself sit into the stool close to the couple. "What can I get'cha?" Conrad asked, and behind him was various bottles of alcohol. Vodka, rum, hell, even a small bottle of tequila was resting on a shelf.

"Oh. . I don't think-"

"Come on, get the girl a drink! This one's me." The older woman smiled, and Sarah could feel the knots in her stomach turning. She didn't feel comfortable drinking, but the nice lady was offering her some.

"I mean. . . it wouldn't hurt to try. . . I. . I guess." Her cheeks burnt a dark pink, to which she faced away from the two.

"Alright. . how about some rum?" Conrad asked the teenager, to which she just nodded. She was already embarrassed, and she hadn't even drank anything. The dark-skinned man grabbed a shot glass - much to Sarah's pleasure - and filled it to the brim of the glass, then slid it over the counter towards the teenager, to which she had barely caught before it had fell off the table.

Sarah lifted the glass, the couple's eager eyes burning into her soul as they awaited for her to drink it - and she did. She slammed her eyes shut, her throat burning once the alcohol had touched her throat and much to her distaste, faced towards the ground as spit it back out.

"Well. . that's a waste of good rum," Conrad chuckled, and grabbed the shot glass from the coughing teen. "That was. . . disgusting," she barely mumbled out, wiping furiously at her lips, while Francine had to hold in her giggles.

"I remember back when I was your age, I-"

"WE KNOW SHE'S HERE! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW!"

The three jumped at the sound of a megaphone, or what she thought was a megaphone. One second, she was having a decent time, and there must have been something coming on from outside because the man yelling through the megaphone sounded pretty pissed.

The three ran towards the door, Sarah being the first one to throw open the door, she felt a shiver run down her spine once the cold had hit her in the face. What the heck was going on? Sarah looked around outside until she had found the main gates, and she could see headlights reflect off the metal. Something was about to go down, and she didn't want to be there once things had gotten out of hand.

Biting down on her lip to hold in the groans of pain coming from her shoulder, she noticed Clementine standing on top of what seemed to be a platform. Maybe Clementine knew what was going on?

"Clem? Clementine?!" Sarah called out, but Clementine didn't notice Sarah yet. Great. Just great. "Clementine!" she called out once again, and finally, Clementine had turned around. It was still pretty unbelievable, seeing her best friend after so many months. But where the _hell_ was AJ?

"Shoot," Clementine muttered, she turned to glance at the man standing next to her, his gun trained over the gates. He seemed to be in his mid twenties, and he was wearing a very filthy jersey. But that didn't matter now as Clementine hurried down the stairs, a look of worry struck on her face.

"We have to go," The younger teenager muttered, a pained expression on her face. Go? Go where?

"Clementine. . . What's going on?" the slightly less naive teenager questioned, and flinched once she heard more yelling - and it was from...

...Badger.

Great.

"I'll tell you once we're on the road, but we need to head back to the inn, grab AJ, and get the hell out of here. We don't wanna be here when shit hits the fan. . ."

Sarah moaned in pain, her shoulder burning all of a sudden but she must have moved it too much. "What? Why don't we stay here and help them?"

"Sarah. . I can't put AJ in anymore danger. Javier and his family- they'll be okay. I know it."

Sarah pondered for a few moments. . she wasn't up for leaving people behind, but there were other people up on the platform, and the man she met earlier, Conrad- he seemed to be heading up, assault rifle in his arms. They seemed to be well-armed. Sarah sighed, giving her head a small nod and they soon ran towards the inn Sarah was staying in, but they had ordered different rooms.

 _Meanwhile..._

"We know she's here! We aren't going to ask again," Badger exclaimed, his features were full of anger and hatred. Javier merely shrugged in return; and Badger didn't like that at all.

"God dammit! Get the truck ready!" the hot-headed man called out, to which the man with the beanie standing to the left him stood there, shocked.

"What?! Come on - this isn't how we do things!"

"I don't care! Fuck you! Fuck this! Ram the fucking gate!"

"God dammit, Badger!"

But the argument between the two adults quickly subsided as the giant truck, pairs of walkers held in cages like animals, rammed into the gate, barricades tearing like paper; to which the truck went into reverse, repeating the same actions it did just seconds ago.

And that's when the gates slammed open, the truck tipping and the walkers flying out from where they were held.

Shit was hitting the fan.

 _With Clementine and Sarah..._

The two hurried back to the inn, out of breath as soon as the reached Clementine's door. Twisting the knob, the door seemed to be locked which resulted in a very disappointed and frustrated Clementine. Sarah flinched once she heard the gates finally give out, faint moans of walkers nearby. Oh no...

"C-Clementine. ." Sarah whimpered out, her fingers turning into a very pale white once she felt her hand wrap around her knife. She already knew what she had to do in case a walker had gotten close to either herself, or Clementine and AJ.

"Hurry! Grab your things!" Clementine shouted, finally kicking down the door while Sarah eagerly nodded and ran next door, opening it with a loud creak. Sarah didn't have much to take, so she just ran to the nightstand resting near the bed and opened the first drawer. Some batteries, and a few pieces of gum, "Score," she mumbled, and she heard a faint, "Sarah! Hurry! I'm gonna pull the car around here, and you _need_ to be ready by the time I get back."

"Okay!" she shouted in reply, and opened the second nightstand drawer. Nothing.

She ran towards dresser, grabbing her backpack that had a few personal belongings, as well as a half a box of ammo. Sarah quickly slipped the pieces of gum and batteries into her backpack, zipped it shut, and ran towards the door, just in time as Clementine came screeching into the scene, good thing there was a parking lot there.

The older teenager gasped once she felt something wrap around her foot, Sarah falling down clumsily into the concrete as well as her red-rimmed glasses sliding off. Her heart continued to harshly thump against her chest, sliding the knife from her holster while she successfully kicked the walker off her. She then got up and slammed the tip of the knife into the walker's skull, pulling the knife out and grabbing her glasses. Her blurry vision subsided once she put her glasses back on, and she thankfully had no more run-ins with walkers, but people seemed to be moving in closer to them.

Sarah slid into the passenger seat, and if it weren't for the door handle, the Hispanic would have fallen out of the moving vehicle. She clipped on her seat belt, her heart was still beating in her chest, but she felt sanctuary with her best friend sitting next to her, while AJ rested in the back.

"Wow. . . Did you see that, Clem? Clem?"

She averted her gaze to look to her left, and to her horror...

...it wasn't Clementine...

 _What was she going to do?_


End file.
